CITY ROOM; Celebrities Join to Oppose Upstate Gas Drilling

By MIREYA NAVARRO

Published: August 24, 2012

Artists Against Fracking. The Beatles family is well represented: the coalition also includes Ringo Starr and Julian Lennon.">

More than 140 artists and celebrities, including Lady Gaga and Paul McCartney, have signed on to a coalition to try to persuade Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to ban the use of hydraulic fracturing - also known as hydrofracking or fracking - to extract natural gas in parts of New York State.

Yoko Ono and her son, Sean Lennon, plan to host an event on Wednesday in New York City to introduce the coalition, called Artists Against Fracking. The Beatles family is well represented: the coalition also includes Ringo Starr and Julian Lennon.

"Our aim is for the world to embrace sustainable living and develop renewable energies through economic viable alternatives to fossil fuel," the group says on its Web site.

Ms. Ono and Mr. Lennon discussed their intention to form the coalition on the NBC program "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" in July. Mr. Fallon is listed as a member on the Web site, as are the author Salman Rushdie, the restaurateur Mario Batali and some big show-business names, like Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Julianne Moore and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Some in the group have homes near the upstate areas where the new drilling could take place.

Such star power represents a coup for an antifracking movement in New York that has counted on only a few celebrities, led by the actor Mark Ruffalo, who is also listed as part of the coalition, to burnish its image. Coordinators of the press event said Ms. Ono and Sean Lennon would not be available for interviews until next week.

The artists' involvement comes amid increasingly visible opposition to Mr. Cuomo's consideration of regulations that would allow hydrofracking in some parts of the state. Polls show New Yorkers to be deeply divided over the technology, which involves blasting shale with millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals to release natural gas.

On their Web site, the artists warn of the dangers of accidental contamination of aquifers with drilling chemicals, and the wastewater that would be produced by drilling operations.

But mostly, the celebrities take direct aim at the governor, a Democrat. Their Web site's home page gives out his office's contact information and urges people to "Contact Governor Cuomo to voice your opinion!"

It is uncertain how much weight the artists' opinions will have. But they are likely to further energize the environmental movement, which includes advocacy groups, scientists and politicians, in the debate against the oil and gas industry, landowners and officials in communities that see the drilling as a source of new investment and jobs.

Brad Gill, executive director of the industry group Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York, responded to the coalition's emergence with a terse statement saying that he trusted that Mr. Cuomo would rely on science to make a decision, as the governor has pledged to do. "The people elected Governor Cuomo, not celebrities, to lead New York and to make decisions that are in the best interest" of the state, Mr. Gill said.

The industry association had previously dismissed antifracking celebrities n a postcard delivered to lawmakers in Albany that said: "Welcome to Hollywood, N.Y., where the line between fact and fiction is blurred."

A spokesman for the governor, Josh Vlasto, said Mr. Cuomo had not heard from the artists directly, though Ms. Ono posted a letter to the governor in July on her personal Web site. (It was unclear whether she sent the letter.)

Asked by a reporter about hydrofracking on Wednesday, Mr. Cuomo said that he understood the passion on both sides of the argument, but that he would "let the science dictate the conclusion; and that's just what we're doing."

Thomas Kaplan contributed reporting.

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.

PHOTOS: More than 140 people have signed on to ''Artists Against Fracking,'' including, clockwise from the top left, Lady Gaga, David Byrne, Anne Hathaway, Paul McCartney, Zooey Deschanel and Yoko Ono, who is one of the group's founders.

Artists Against Fracking. The Beatles family is well represented: the coalition also includes Ringo Starr and Julian Lennon.">